In the mid-1960s, the Soviet Navy developed a requirement
for a long-range anti-submarine and maritime
patrol aircraft to supplement the IL-38 medium-range
aircraft. With the Tu-95 and Tu-114 in operation,
Tupolev was asked to prepare proposals.

Nikolai Bazenkov was appointed chief designer for
the project, which was given the number 142. He took
the basic Tu-95 design but omitted all the strategic
equipment. The wing was redesigned with increased
span, up from 50.05m to 51.10m, which allowed more fuel to be carried, and with
increased camber. Much of the defensive weaponry
was also removed. Then he added the electronic equipment
needed for its new role.

The prototype Tu-142 made its first
flight from Zhukovski in July 1968. After flight tests by the designers and the
NIl VVS, the aircraft was put into production at
Kuibyshev and later at Taganrog. It
entered service with Naval Long Distance Aviation in
1972; it was then, and still is, the world's largest anti-submarine
aircraft. It served alongside the smaller
IL-38, which was effectively the Soviet equivalent of the
US Navy's P-3 Orion; but its long-range capability
made it able to launch an attack on a submarine
5,000km from the aircraft's base. With
improvements in electronics, work began in 1973 on
an improved version, the Tu-142M, and its first flight
was made on 4 November 1975.

The -142M was fitted with electronic equipment
capable of early detection of low-noise submarines, a
new and more accurate INS navigation system and automated radio communications. Its surveillance
system worked on a 360° arc, and was more capable
than that of the IL-38 at detecting magnetic abnormalities.
Data was transferred immediately by satellite
link back to base. With a capability to patrol for
seventeen hours, the aircraft was provided with bunks
for crew rest. Its internal fuel load was seventy tonnes,
and it was equipped for in-flight refuelling which could
extend the patrol duration beyond the seventeen hours
when needed.

The VMS based its Tu-142s, which were given the
NATO codename 'Bear F', in the Northern and
Pacific regions; some were also based in Cuba and
Vietnam until 1990, when political developments
prompted their return to Russia.

Production continued at Taganrog until 1988, with
one aircraft per month being completed. Total production
run at both factories was 225 aircraft, including
eight delivered to the Indian Navy starting in the mid-
1980s and continuing until 1988.

The standard armament of the Tu-142 was two GSh-23
cannons mounted in the tail for defensive use. It could
carry up to eight Kh-35 anti-shipping cruise missiles
(NATO code AS-17) mounted on pylons under the
wing, and internally, 450mm calibre anti-submarine
torpedoes and/or 533mm calibre anti-shipping torpedoes.
Depth charges could also be dropped. With a
combat load of 11,340kg, its maximum range
was 12,550km. Normal take-off weight
was 170 tonnes, but 188 was possible with little
difficulty.

3-View

&nbsp

A three-view drawing (1194 x 1683)

Specification

&nbsp

MODEL

Tu-142M3

CREW

10

ENGINE

4 x NK-12MP, 15000hp

WEIGHTS

Take-off weight

188000 kg

414471 lb

Empty weight

80000 kg

176371 lb

DIMENSIONS

Wingspan

51.10 m

168 ft 8 in

Length

49.50 m

162 ft 5 in

Height

12.12 m

40 ft 9 in

Wing area

295 m2

3175.35 sq ft

PERFORMANCE

Max. speed

925 km/h

575 mph

Ceiling

13500 m

44300 ft

Range

12550 km

7798 miles

Comments

alpha, 22.04.2014

We'll I guess recently they'd prefer using it to detect US subs in black sea.

Anthony, 22.03.2014

Russia should send some of these planes with their much greater loitering capability to help Australia USA New Zealand Indonesia China and Malaysia search for missing Malaysian plane.